A Bristol man whose 13ft snake ate a neighbour's cat claims the tabby must have been stalking his python.

Darren Bishop's 10-year-old Burmese python Squash swallowed four-year-old tabby Wilbur after the cat ventured into Mr Bishop's back garden in Upper Sandhurst Road, Brislington.

Wilbur's owners, Martin and Helen Wadey, have since launched a campaign to change the law so that the snakes are officially classified as dangerous animals, with owners required to hold a licence.

Their petition on the 10 Downing Street website has already attracted 3,500 signatures, after the Bristol Evening Post's story about the incident made headlines as far away as New Zealand.

But speaking to the Post yesterday, Squash's owner said that although he is sympathetic to his neighbours' loss, he believes Squash could not have hunted Wilbur and that the cat must have made the first move.

He says he is a responsible owner, although he conceded that the snake had once given him the slip and escaped to a neighbour's coal shed.

Mr Bishop has owned the 80kg snake since it was around six weeks old and six inches long. The 35-year-old excavator driver bought it for around £100, and keeps it in an enclosure indoors.

He says he only lets it into the back garden when it is sunny, and then he keeps a close eye on the python, usually checking on it every 10 minutes.

Mr Bishop said: "I've always had a fascination with them – they are unique creatures.

"I've always been a dog owner but it's not fair to leave a dog at home all day. Snakes can be left at home.

"I've had her 10 years and we've lived here for eight years.

"She only got out once, five years ago.

"We never used to lock the back door and she managed to get out into the neighbourhood, so we printed up some fliers and handed them out.

"We had a lot of phone calls asking if it was a joke. We rang the RSPCA and the police, then two days later a neighbour said he had found her in his coal shed."

Mr Bishop said since then he has locked the back gate and put Squash in a more secure tank.

Speaking about the incident involving Wilbur on June 25, he said: "Squash met this cat; he (Mr Wadey) is saying she may have been actively hunting her but a python can't actively hunt.

"Cats sit up on the wall. There's no way she can stalk a cat, they always know she's there.

"I've seen cats stalking her, I've had to throw stones to stop them having a go.

"All they can see is her head and they are not sure if they can kill her or not.

"Normally they think better of it. I know what cat it is, if I go 'psst', they usually go away."

Mr Bishop said Squash came back into the house as the sun went down and he noticed a bulge in her stomach, and spoke to Mr Wadey the next afternoon.

Mr Bishop said: "I had to tell him that my snake's eaten his cat. He said I didn't apologise, but I did.

"I offered him a cup of tea, he had a look around for 20 to 25 minutes, and I answered any questions. He has a right to know – I decided to co-operate.

"He asked if a friend from the RSPCA could scan the snake, I said OK, then when he left he said something about the police."

Mr Bishop said once the police had been mentioned he wanted legal advice before co-operating any further.

The RSPCA came round the next day but instead of letting them in, Mr Bishop scanned the snake himself and told them there was a micro-chipped animal inside, shortly after the incident.

"I understand he's upset, anybody would be, but he's treated it like someone's killed his child.

"At the end of the day it's not a child, it's a cat.

"Legislation is there to protect humans. Pitbulls aren't dangerous animals because they eat cats, it's because they've mauled humans.

"Cats are killers as well but they don't keep them in 24 hours a day."